Today’s post is about the best Desktop wallets available for storing your Bitcoins. Desktop wallets are wallets that store the private key for your Bitcoins on your hard drive. By nature, desktop wallets are more secure than mobile wallets (since they’re harder to steal).

If you’re new to the world of Bitcoin and wallets please watch this video before reading any further:

Of course desktop wallets are still considered “hot wallets”, since they are connected to the Internet. This makes them inherently insecure. However, for small amounts of Bitcoin or altcoin they are a good solution.

For large amounts of Bitcoin ALWAYS use cold storage wallets like a paper wallet or a hardware wallet. Today I’m going to review 4 different desktop wallets that work on all 3 major operating systems – Mac OS, Linux and Windows.

Electrum – The All Around Winner Bitcoin Desktop Wallet

It took me a while to start using Electrum, but once I did, I never looked back. I’ll start with the downside – Electrum is ugly. The interface looks like a 90’s version of Windows. Also, if you’re completely new to Bitcoin I have the feeling you’ll get lost pretty quickly due to the unfriendly interface.

However, once you get over the interface issues, Electrum is one of the most robust, effective and secure desktop wallets out there. Also it’s open source, meaning many people have taken part in reviewing and composing the code. This reduces the chance of malicious code inside the software to practically zero.

In times when the Bitcoin network is “crowded” and transaction fees can skyrocket, Electrum is one of the few wallets that allows you to replace the fee you’ve set to an already broadcasted transaction. This feature is very handy when you can’t get your transaction to confirm.

Exodus – The dumbed down, pretty Bitcoin desktop wallet

If you’re just getting started with Bitcoin and you’re still trying to wrap your head around everything that’s going on, Exodus has got you covered. Exodus launched on July 2016 and since then has gained some serious momentum.

Again, I’ll start with the downside – it’s not open source. This means that the developers can potentially insert malicious code into the software without you knowing about it. And of course, when it comes to money, having a closed source program can raise some concerns. However, since I suggest you use desktop wallets for small amounts of Bitcoin in any case (closed or open source), then this is not a big issue in my book. I never put an amount I’m not willing to risk in any hot wallet (desktop, mobile or web).

Exodus also allows you to hold a variety of altcoins such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash and more. The interface is super easy to understand and even total newbies will get the hang of it. If you find electrum to daunting, this is a great alternative. Exodus is available for Mac, Windows and Linux.

Bitcoin Core – A full Bitcoin node wallet for hardcore Bitcoiners

All of the wallets we’ve covered so far are known as SPV wallets or lite wallets. This means that they don’t have a full copy of the blockchain in order to verify transactions – they relay on other computers on the network to give them transaction information.

Bitcoin Core is a full node Bitcoin wallet. This means that once you download the wallet you will also download the whole blockchain to your computer. This can get really messy as the blockchain’s size is over 130GB and can take some time to download. However, once the Blockchain is downloaded you can now independently verify transactions on the network and do not need to trust anyone else in the system.

In all honesty, I don’t think it’s worth the hassle. You can gain some educational value by completing this process, but for day to day transactions and use of Bitcoin SPV wallets are just fine. Bitcoin Core is available for Mac, Windows and Linux.

Copay – A Multisig Bitcoin Desktop Wallet

Copay is a wallet created by BitPay, one of the largest Bitcoin payment service providers around. The wallet is available for most major platforms (mobile and desktop) and is a multisig wallet. Using Copay’s multisig feature allows you extra security against theft and could be a good option if you can’t afford a hardware wallet.

Copay’s code is open source, available for Windows, Mac and Linux and has been around since 2014.

Armory

Armory is a well-known and trusted brand when it comes to Bitcoin security, though the wallet is usually best for more advanced users. If you are looking for a wallet that emphasizes safety and security, Armory should make the short list as the wallet features a variety of encryption and cold-storage options.

Armory is among the most respected brands when it comes to Bitcoin security.Armory is available for Mac, Linux, Windows Ubuntu and RaspberriPi.

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Jeremy K

How would I go about trading my Cryptolux CLX coin’s for crypto like BTC? I tried going to the site’s they send me to but when I do the address and put in into my Cryptolux CLX wallet address nothing happen’s! They do offer Linux and Window’s wallet for deposit withdraw but don’t know what you do when you download as it look’s weird!

YOU said that in order to send bitcoins to someone else you will have to convert the bitcoin wallet to a digital wallet and there is a tutorial for that. Where is the tutorial? As far as personal information on coinbase and localbitcoins.com what is the difference. Localbitcoins.com doesn’t make clear what identity information they request in their terms of service other than name and email. Do yo know what they require?

Exodus charges stupid high fees for their use. It is easy to use just expect 10% or more in fees. Multiple complaints about this and the excuse they give is not true as I did only one deposit in a month. That is why I am at this article. I need a wallet that does not eat up my monthly mining in fees.

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6 months ago

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Mark

Pretty useless article as there are way more crypto coins out there than just the few supported in the above mentioned app.
If you are going to write an article like this, which is generally appreciated, discussing products that cover a decent range on coins (no not all the 1500 that are out there) would be surely be more meaningful.

I downloaded Exodus, but I don’t get how to put money in the wallet.. It makes me retrieve a previous account via backup.. It looks like you need a wallet to use an exchange, but you need an exchange to buy bc to put in the wallet. What I am not seeing?